


Roads to Recovery

by lori_hill



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Amnesia, Angst, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Recreational Drug Use, Slow Burn, aka there's weed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-07
Updated: 2016-02-07
Packaged: 2018-05-18 17:56:20
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,372
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5937580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lori_hill/pseuds/lori_hill
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's been ten years since monsterkind escaped the Underground with the help of Frisk. Things are looking up, with monsters finally acquiring full rights two years ago. But while monsters finally have the integration into the surface society like they wanted, speciesism still hangs heavily between both monsters and humans. </p><p>        Kat Bennett moved into a monster inclined neighborhood three months ago in an attempt to pick up the pieces of her life. A surprise visit from her neighbor one night triggers a path in life she wasn't prepared to take, but maybe... just maybe, it's what she'd been seeking all along.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Roads to Recovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skeletons, and candles, and stars, oh my!

                The shadows that danced along the walls were strangely soothing in a way. Perhaps it the way that the room was bathed with the warm light from the flickering flames of the candles scattered about. Sometimes, if she focused hard enough on the flames, the blonde almost thought she recall certain parts of memories. How something smelt when she was a child, the fuzzy image of a hearth of a crackling fire.... It was comforting and Kat couldn’t help but further relax into her chair, swallowed up by the old worn leather that felt like butter against the exposed skin of her thighs. Pale hazel eyes glanced to her right where a cup of sweet iced tea, a plate of sliced salami, and Ritz crackers rested on the coffee table. Her gaze then switched to glance towards her left where her sin of choice patiently waited in the ashtray on the arm of the chair. Coupled with the few puffs she’d already taken and the low hum of enjoyable music, it was the perfect night in.

 _This is nice. I like this,_ she thought to herself with a pleased hum. It was moments like these that Kat almost felt like maybe she could really begin to be okay. This time, things wouldn’t bottom out for her. Reality would click firmly back into place, a calmness would finally settle everything into a _normal_ routine. The twenty four year old sighed softly, allowing her eyes to slip closed… allowing herself to lull into a comfortable doze…

                There was a knock at the door.

_The universe **has** to hate me._

                Tired eyes fluttered halfway open, and for a long moment the young woman simply continued to stay curled up in her overly large armchair. Maybe if she stayed really still and quiet, they’d just go away. It worked for all those door to door salesmen. It’d even been accomplished with much more noise level than there was now! So there was no reason that, if Kat chose not to answer the door, whoever it was simply would give up after a few minutes of silence.

                Wrong.

                There was a heavier and louder knock this time, which made Kat slump in disappointment. _So much for attempting to nap_ , she thought to herself a tad bitterly. Groaning quietly, she hefted herself up out of the warm embrace of her seat. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes and hoping they weren’t _too_ glassy, Kat unlocked the door before cracking it open enough to see who was at fault for interrupting what had nearly been a perfect moment. Peeking through said crack led to the discovery of a monster. Which, well, wasn’t _odd_ at all figuring Mercy lived in a mostly monster area of town. (What could she say? Rent was cheap and Kat herself held no bias between the two species. After all, she couldn’t remember life before the monsters had been introduced into the world. Their existence just _fact_ to her, one that was easy to accept. )

                It was just… the monster on the porch startled Kat for a second, her fingers squeezing against the worn wood of the door as an odd sense of unease twinged uncomfortably in her chest. For a moment she was completely frozen to the spot, like a deer stuck in the headlights. She couldn’t understand why. She’d seen glimpses of her neighbors before. Still, Kat had only really seen the tall one of the two – brothers, she found out in that conversation – next door. He’d actually given her a tupperware of spaghetti as some sort of welcome gift for moving in. He’d been pretty sweet, soothing nerves he'd been none the wiser to. 

                But this wasn’t him.

                Logically, some little voice in the back of Kat’s mind reminded her, this had to be that illustrious and mysterious “lazy brother” of his he’d mentioned.

                This brother is shorter than the other skeleton monster. Their difference in height was even a bit startling. It was just so drastic! But where the tall one seemed thinner, Kat noticed this skeleton monster seemed… _fuller_. Perhaps that could be attributed partially to the blue jacketand black gym shorts fashioned with a white stripe down each leg. They weren't exactly figure enhancing items of clothing. Adorned on his feet were a pair of pink slippers. Kat was intrigued to see the sloping white shapes of his bone structure from his socks up to his knee. His hands were stuffed in his jacket pockets, the zipper pulled up under his chin. His eye sockets were home to little pinpricks of white light that acted like pupils. They were staring right at her, almost _expectantly_  -

                Oh.

 _Talk_.

                “Shit, sorry,” Kat winced at her bad manners, opening the door a little more so she didn’t look so closed off from him. She didn’t want to give him the wrong impression or anything of the sort.

                If he was bothered by it, he didn’t say anything. Instead, the skeleton just flashed her a slightly awkward grin before shrugging his shoulders. In some recess of Mercy’s heart, she relaxed a tiny bit. “sorry to bother you, but my brother and i ran out of candles to burn. neither of us expected the power to be out this long.” He actually looked a bit… sheepish, Kat noted. She nodded, understanding. The power had gone out three hours ago, due to high winds earlier that evening, and the city was taking its sweet time getting it up and running again.

                “anyways, paps thought you might have some and sent me to ask.” Oh, that seemed reasonable enough. “i figure you have some to spare since your house looks pretty _lit_ to me.” he chuckled and Kat tensed up all over again.

                He knew.

_Shit, shit, shit!_

                The skeleton suddenly held up his hands, recognizing the panic that suddenly gripped your features. “hey, woah, wait. calm down. it doesn’t bother me. i’m just here for some candles,” he tried to again, aware of the anxiety he’d unknowingly triggered. Kat swallowed past the lump in her throat and tucked away a long sweep of loose sandy hair back behind her ear.

                “…okay.” Kat mumbled, releasing a heavy exhale as she shifted to walk back into her house. It left her skeletal neighbor standing awkwardly at the door before he seemed to make up his mind about what that had meant and stepped into the house as well. He left the door open though, to which Kat cast him look over her shoulder for. “Hey, close that, will you? You’re letting all the heat out.”

                He shrugged a shoulder and nudged the door closed with his heel, hands deeply settled in his pockets as he stood by the door. Kat chewed her lip, inhaling deeply to see if the smell was what had given her away. It was possible that while the thick scent of her candles was all _she_ could smell, someone not used to the scent of smoking pot could most likely pick up on it. Hazel eyes shifted back to the skeleton, just as his curious sweeping gaze flickered back to her.

                “it’s nice to finally meet you, by the way.” he offered her. “i believe you already met my brother.”

                One corner of Kat’s mouth picked up a bit, her response sincere when she replied,

                 “Yeah, he was nice.”

                The comment seemed to make Sans’s facial features soften for a moment, as if her saying that had eased his mind some. “i’m Sans.” He offered, his eyes locked with hers for a good five seconds. Kat stood frozen as his eyes swept up the length of her slowly and damn, she could _feel_ him sizing her up. This had to be payback for her earlier staring, huh? Kat bit her lip and rubbed at her chest with the meat of her palm. She wondered what he saw… Perhaps it wasn’t as bad as she initially worried, though, because he shot her a dashing smile once he’d drank his visual fill and continued,

                 “sans the skeleton.”

                An odd name, but Kat remembered that his brother’s was just as uncommon sounding. _It must be nice having such a unique name, such a solid sense of identity…_ she thought absently, before shaking her head slightly and replying in kind.

                “You can call me Kat.” She offered, having given his brother the same permission.

                “really? no _kitten,_ huh?” he asked, grinning and waggling his brow bones playfully. It would have been cute if not for the thousands of other people she’d run into who’d made some variation of the same joke. But the familiarity of the teasing, even if from someone new, left Kat finally letting go of that last remnant of tension that had been clinging to her body. The last bit of uncertainty faded, and she was left feeling more like herself. She grinned back at him, a sudden mischievous glint flickering in their eyes as one hand settled on a jutted hip.

                “Come on, give me some new material. I’ve heard that one way too many times.”

                Sans let out a bark of laughter, shoulders shaking slightly. “ah, the neighbor’s got bite!” The lights in his eyes seemed to brighten as Kat’s expression betrayed how amused she was. “i like.”

                “ _Well_ ,” Kat hummed, pleased, as she padded into the living room. A smile was still etched into the planes of her face. There were no other words to say to him after that though, so the blonde just motioned for him to follow her into the living room. She wandered over to the center table and blew out a couple of three wick candles there, but there was a large thick layer of hot wax left now. Kat chewed on her lip, unsure if he’d be fine with holding the hot glass. Could Sans be burned?

                “you know, monsters have something similar to this stuff. we call it dog treats. i used to smoke it on occasion when i was younger.”

                Kat blinked, put off by how casual Sans sounded about that little nugget of information. When she whirled around to glance at him, Sans was standing by her leather armchair with her half smoked joint pinched between two of his fingers.

                “Do you… Do you want to stay for a bit and try some while the wax cools to a bearable holding temperature?” Kat asked slowly, regretting the words even as they crawled past her lips. But for some reason, she couldn’t stop herself.

                Sans glanced up sharply, surprised. He stared at her for a long moment, before his head canted to the side slightly and he glanced back down at the joint pinched between his index and thumb. His brows furrowed, fingers rolling the small thing between them for a second. The silence stretched just a moment too long for Kat’s comfort, but just as she was about to laugh her words off as some sort of joke, Sans shrugged and plopped down on the armchair.

                “don’t see why not.” he agreed, grinning when he noticed Kat looking stunned. It’d just kinda slipped, her offer for him to join her. She truly hadn’t expected him to accept. “can’t say i haven’t been curious about the differences between them.” His explanation worked to calm Kat’s frazzled nerves, enough for her to offer him a shaky smile and nod.

                “Cool.” Then her face shifted into a twitching frown that begged to become a smile. “But you’re gonna have to choose another place to sit, cause that comfy chair is mine.”

                “don’t see your name on it, kitten.”

                The return of that kitten remark had Kat’s hazel eyes narrowing for a moment but this time, she recognized it as a nickname and not a joke. She could handle that, it wasn’t that terrible of a nickname. And he just met her, of course he’d remember his own joke more than her name. Kat chuckled and stepped over towards him, plucking the joint from his fingers and grabbing the lighter from her pocket. “If you don’t move, I _will_ sit on you.” She hummed before putting the joint to her lips and raising the lighter to the end of it. Lighting it was a simple easy motion, practiced plenty over the years since her discovery of the flower.

                Sans hummed, looking up at her with both brow bones seeming to lift in amusement. The edge of his grin was almost predatory, amusement clear at her daring words. “Well, if you in _sit_ s.” He purred and Kat choked on a laugh during her slow exhale.

                The blonde had to turn away, laughing even as she shakily handed him his pass on the joint. Her laughter started to die down to chuckles eventually, but she felt better. The nerves of him being someone she didn’t know in her house after claiming to know about her weed died down to a low simmer in her chest. “That was terrible.” Kat insisted as she rose from where she’d been leaning on her knees trying to catch her breath. “And you waited until the worst moment to say it, you cheater. I wasn’t prepared.”

                “if you were prepared, you wouldn’t have let yourself laugh like that.” He countered as he slouched back into the armchair, a pleased smile settled over his features. Kat couldn’t help but watch as he lifted the joint between his teeth, inhaling. The joint flared with a red ring as the greens burned away into smoke, but Kat wondered where that smoke _went_. He was a skeleton, he didn’t have lungs.

                She was so focused on his mouth and the joint, that she didn’t notice the faint blue encircling his left pupil as he breathed in.

                He pulled the joint from his teeth, perfectly straight except for the jut of canines a little longer than Kat was used to seeing. At least he didn’t have fangs like some monsters… She had nothing against the monsters themselves, it was just it was hard to move past seeing _fangs_ in the mouth of the person she was talking to. It made her… uncomfortable to a degree. Like the deep recesses of her instincts told her that sharp teeth equaled predator and she needed to run away.

                “take a picture, it’ll last longer.”

                Shit, caught staring again.

                “Sorry!” Kat’s eyes flickered down to the ground as the embarrassment of being caught staring again flared at the tips of her ears and the back of her neck. His grin was still settled on his face, but now Kat thought she could tell how tight it was. “You’re just so different from your brother.”

                It was sort of the truth, right?

                He seemed to take that answer in stride though, relaxing another fraction as he passed the joint back to her. “i know, he got all the height and energy.” He chuckled, tilting his head to look up at her with another lazy grin. This one seemed more relaxed now that he had an idea of why she was staring at him. “don’t worry, i make up for it with all the charm and good looks.”

                Kat snorted, rolling her eyes in good nature. She took her hit, smiling to herself as she begrudgingly settled on the edge of the couch instead. Sans seemed to regard her thoughtfully for a moment and… was that a hint of hesitancy Kat thought she saw flash across his features. “thanks, by the way.” he finally spoke. Kat glanced at him, brows furrowed in confusion at the unwarranted thanks. He shrugged. “for being nice to him when he came to welcome you next door, i mean. ya didn’t have to. lots of hu-… _people…_ don’t.” Sans struggled to finish his sentence, looking away as an awkward silence filled the air between Kat and the skeleton monster.

                Slowly, the blonde released the smoke from her lungs up at the ceiling.

                She had to tread carefully with this sudden shift in their conversation. This was a sensitive issue, even a decade after monsters had originally risen from the depths of Mount Ebott.

                Kat could have just accepted the thanks as it was and moved on, but something ugly tugged in her chest and what came out was very different.

                “I wasn’t sure about moving out here, at first.” Kat hummed quietly, quickly taking another long drag from the joint before handing it over to Sans. He accepted it after a moment of it being between the two of them. It only was once the joint was to his teeth, his eyes warily watching Kat, and he took his own hit that she continued. “I thought I might not be welcome,” she expanded after a moment of hesitation. Sans’ expression shifted into incredulous confusion and even a bit of indignant irritation at the idea. Kat ignored that for now, letting out her hit so she could take a fresh breath and go on.

                She couldn’t meet Sans eyes though as she spoke,

                 “ _Your_ _brother_ ,” Kat couldn’t remember his name, even as she struggled to do so. “made _me_ , a complete stranger, feel welcome when I was feeling anxious and unsure. He didn’t have to go out of his way to do that, most _people_ don’t really. And that’s a kindness I wish more people in the world had. I’m sure without his support over being newfound neighbors, I would have chickened out after a week and moved back in with my parents.” She admitted softly, her eyes focused on the panda face on the knee of her socks. It was shaped weird now because her legs were folded to the side…

                It was silent.

                Slowly, Kat felt the panic start to claw its way across her ribs, seeming to squeeze them until she couldn’t breathe. Oh God, she’d said too much! He must think Kat was some kind of idiot – some loser stoner. After all…

                The two of them were still strangers despite her welcoming him into her home and a short session…

                Geez, technically his brother was still a stranger, too. Acquaintance sounded too often to fit….

                They were just neighbors.

                He just needed candles!

                What had she been t h i n k i n g …!?

 _F u c k_ \--

                “you gonna take your next hit or can i steal it?”

                Kat glanced up, not expecting the question. Sans was holding the joint out between them, his expression set in that friendly grin he seemed to wear constantly. This time around it seemed a bit more awkward than before. Her fault, if anything, for making him uncomfortable with that sudden sharing of too much information. Still… something about the blur along the edges of the white lights in his eyes made them look soft… Like that, his eyes looked… _kind_. Warm, understanding, bemused perhaps. The longer she stared into them, the more Kat thought she saw.

                It was kinda breathtaking.

                “Y-yeah,” she found herself finally saying, reaching out to take the joint and smiling shakily as she did. Kat said nothing as the silence turned less awkward and more just generally _there_ – not quite _comfortable_ yet not thick enough to be _un_ comfortable. She pulled a hit from the joint, not even thinking when her tongue moved in a familiar motion to catch the smoke at the back of her throat. The trick was something of an absent habit when Kat smoked, happening frequent when she was lost in thought. With the push of her tongue, the smoke curled from her open lips and was inhaled through her nose into her lungs.

                While she blew out smoke in a slow stream from her mouth, Kat looked back over to Sans to see him watching her intently. One brow quirked high up into the ashy blonde’s forehead. Then, realizing what she’d done, smirked.

                “Take a picture, I heard it lasts longer.”

                And just like that, the tension broke as Sans barked out a surprised laugh. The sound of it, with that smooth and rich deep voice he had, was simply lovely. It was a sound that Kat wouldn’t mind hearing more of, if given the chance. She dared to hope she would be given the chance in the future now that things seemed to have smoothed out once more between the two of them.

                “you’re alright, kitten.” Sans chuckled, his smile warming a part of Kat’s heart. His acceptance filled her with a warm feeling that seemed to tendril from the center of her chest outwards, until the tips of her fingers hummed with content. The blonde couldn’t help but smile back, handing him his pass with a small,

                “Thanks, Sans.”

                It wasn’t too long after that, that Sans stood up from Kat’s armchair and handed her back the mostly burnt out roach. “man, i really shouldn’t keep paps waiting too long.” He muttered. Kat took it deftly before pinching it out against the ashtray and letting it drop. A lazy curl of smoke drifted for a moment before that too died away. Kat stood as well, moving towards the center table where the three triple wicked candles she was letting him borrow sat waiting.

                “Do, you, uh, need help taking these over since they’re still warm and mostly liquidy?” Kat asked, examining the thin congealed layer that had settled over the hot wax. The glass still felt faintly warm to the touch, too.

                Sans shrugged, reaching over to grab one of the candles. “yeah, sure. follow me.”

                Taking the other two, Kat followed Sans out of her own door and over to the right where she knew the brothers lived. The buzz of her high kept a lazy smile etched along her lips, and the cool night air was a pleasing kiss against her skin. Kat hummed, content. When she glanced up to Sans, he was making his way across the grass towards his door. She followed in suit, not minding the shortcut across the grass. She’d never really understood why people got so nitpick-y over that anyways. It was just grass…

                Sans paused in front of the door, sparing Kat another glance. His hand was on the doorknob, but he hadn’t opened the door yet. Kat stopped by his side, giving him a curious look.

                “uh, lemme go set this inside. i’ll be right back out to grab these, ok?” he asked, inclining his head towards the candles still held in the palm of each of Kat’s hands. She blinked, a part of her a little hurt that he wasn’t going to extend the same courtesy that she had him. But most of her understood. It was his house, and ultimately his decision whether or not he wanted her to come inside.

                “Sure,” she replied casually.

                Sans nodded and slipped inside. Kat turned her gaze towards the street. It was darker than usual since the streetlights were out. Most of the neighbors had finally gone to sleep it seemed, with the houses being left dark but for a few here and there still having windows glowing faintly with candle flame. But, the darkness was good for one thing. Turning her head up, Kat felt her heart expand at seeing more stars than the usual city lights allowed. They were like little silver beacons across a sea of black. Simply divine. Also visible in the sky were the dark wisps of clouds, illuminated by the mostly full moon. It’d probably be another couple of days until it was completely full...

               The door opened again and Kat turned her attention back to Sans, who was comfortably leaning against the doorway.

               He was looking at her, expression unreadable except for that silly grin. After a moment, Kat just handed him the last two of the candles she was lending him. He hummed his thanks, the white pinpricks of his pupils watching her quietly. Kat blinked and, once more, didn't think before she spoke, "Wow, your eyes are kinda like stars."

               Sans' face seemed to darken in color, or maybe that was just a trick of the night's lack of light. Awkwardly, Sans cleared his throat before shifting backwards into his house. "uh, thanks again. i'll see you around," he mumbled before ducking into the house and shutting the door without hearing her answer. Kat balked, shocked by the sudden goodbye and perhaps a smidge disappointed as well. There'd been a part of her, a younger more desperate part, that had thought maybe she could make a good friendly relationship between herself and her neighbors. But... Kat cringed and turned to amble back towards her house, chewing on her lip as she did. Maybe randomly opening up about her personal shit and then comparing her neighbor's eyes to fucking  _stars_ had been a bit bold of her. Perhaps Kat had just forfeited what little possibility of a friendship she might have had with Sans. His brother, though... Kat had a feeling he'd be amicable to her regardless.

               Still, it was a little depressing to have messed up the potential simply because when she was high, it was easier to say what she felt and thought. There was no barrier keeping her words hidden behind strained smiles, no forcing out what she thought others wanted to hear... Kat groaned to herself as she walked back inside her own house, slumping against the door and dragging the palm of one hand down across her face. For a moment, she just stayed there, replaying everything that had just happened in her head. It left her feeling all sorts of foolish.

 _What a_ wonderful _first impression, Kat. Hi, come inside, and while we're at it, why don't you smoke with me? By the way, I'm a weenie who would have moved back in with their parents if not for your brother being generally welcoming when I moved in and did I mention your eyes look like little stars?_

               Oh yeah. That was just perfect.

               Muttering bitterly to herself, the twenty four year old dragged herself to her room and flopped down face first onto her bed. Maybe if she was lucky, she'd never see Sans again and this whole awkward night could be forgotten about. 

               Yeah...

                _I'm staying here for the next eternity._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to take this moment to thank each and every one of you who might have stuck through this chapter to the end. I understand that original character stories aren't very common in the Undertale fandom, but I hope that you all can come to love Kat anyways. 
> 
> On another note, the reason Sans is pretty laid back is because it's been ten years since Frisk freed the monsters from the Underground. He's a little more reassured that things won't reset suddenly. But trust me, he's still gonna be the Sans we all know and love. 
> 
> But yeah, tell me what you guys think! I'm really excited to know. :)
> 
> ~ Lori


End file.
